All children are likely to be unavoidably late for school at some time. However, persistent poor timekeeping is disruptive to individual pupils and the whole class; it may also be an early warning sign of other issues or difficulties.
The benefits of good time-keeping
Being on time benefits children and young people because it:
- gets the day off to a good start
- leads to good attendance
- leads to better achievement
- develops the understanding that school is important and education is to be valued
- helps children and young people develop a sense of responsibility for themselves and towards others
- helps pupils make friends and keep friends
- is self-rewarding, leading to success and self-confidence.
The effects of being late
Being late is bad for children and young people because it:
- gets the day off to a bad start
- will be noticed by other children who might make negative comments and cause embarrassment, leading to loss of confidence
- may lead to the child/young person feeling confused all day!
- will have missed out on vital instructions, information and bits of news at the start of the day
- disrupts the lesson for everyone
- can cause pupils to fall behind with his or her work
- creates a bad habit that can be hard to break at secondary school and in the workplace
- can lead to poor attendance - if children/young people think it is okay to be late for school, they can soon start to think it is okay not to go to school at all.